0

I am looking for a concise, non-clumsy way of referring to breath that comes from one's nose rather than from one's mouth. A single-word would be nice.

I've done a Google search to no avail and reviewed Is There a Term for Letting Out an Exasperated Sigh Through the Nose but it's not what I'm looking for. Huff and humph were some of the good answers there but it wouldn't quite work in the sentence I am thinking of.

"Bad breath can be mitigated by not breathing through your mouth. Air that comes from your nose rather than your mouth is less smelly.

[One word for the all bold words would be beautifully concise if it exists!]

One post suggested suspirate which doesn't appear to be a word but that led me to suspire (verb) and suspiration (noun) which are. Unfortunately, according to a review of the OED entries these mean sigh and don't denote a sigh through the nose.

A compound word or phrase would be acceptable, but preferably something shorter than the phrase I came up with!

9
  • 2
    I believe GEdgar's response is the best answer. "Nasal air". On a different topic, I am new to this site. I wonder why the best answers in this site are usually in comments rather than answers. Is it because of reputation fear? Jul 23, 2021 at 15:45
  • 1
    @Syed Danish Anwar It's for a variety of reasons. The question might be considered inappropriate on ELU but an answer helpfully provided in a comment. Or the answer suggested might be considered not really of ELU standard. I've countered the upvote for your answer, sadly, as writing advice is not appropriate on ELU. A one word synonym for 'air that comes from your nose rather than your mouth' is optimal; a short (4 words maximum) string as a synonym might be considered appropriate for the site. But 'air from your nose' doesn't work without prior context, and is not a suitable answer on ELU. Jul 23, 2021 at 15:55
  • 2
    The single-word thing gets old very fast.
    – Lambie
    Jul 23, 2021 at 16:05
  • 2
    @thomj1332 By reputation fear, I meant the fear of losing reputation due to downvotes. Comments cannot be down voted. I've noticed members posting answers to questions in comments even when there is no answer, which seems a bit comical to be frank. I believe the comment section is a type of a loophole to maintain reputation. Jul 23, 2021 at 17:50
  • 1
    I confess to using comments for answers on occasion when I don't have the time or inclination to document my answers and am certain that even a useful answer will be downvoted by someone who is a stickler for the rules. ELU regulars tend to be more dogmatic on this point than on other SE sites.
    – RobJarvis
    Jul 23, 2021 at 20:29

1 Answer 1

1

You can make the sentence in the bold concise by removing 'that comes'.

Also, you can remove the words 'rather than your mouth' as the comparison is obvious after reading the first sentence. So, the sentence could be made concise as follows.

Bad breath can be mitigated by not breathing through your mouth. Air from your nose is less smelly.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.